'Ban' on Word begins

A ban on Microsoft selling certain versions of its software has begun, following a legal dispute with a Canadian firm.

The software giant has had to revise elements of certain versions of Office and Word, following a court ruling that said it had infringed a patent belonging to Toronto-based i4i.

According to BBC News, Microsoft has complied with the ruling and will now offer "revised software" in the US. The company must also pay i4i damages of $290 million.

However, the firm has reportedly filed a fresh appeal against the injunction on 8 January. A panel of judges rejected Microsoft’s previous appeal in December, upholding the original decision of a Texas Court.

The disputed patent reportedly relates to the use of XML, a language for formatting text, which is used in recent versions of Word.

Microsoft has now removed the feature from all available versions of Word and Office on sale in the US.

"This process will be imperceptible to the vast majority of customers," the firm said in a statement.

Kevin Kutz, Microsoft’s director of public affairs, told the BBC that the latest appeal had been filed because the firm was "concerned that the decision weakens judges' authority to apply appropriate safeguards in future patent trials."